We work with the most marginalized communities in the municipalities of San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo, implementing free educational campaigns and events. Our goals for the 2023-2024 school year are to implement 2 Big Read campaigns (1,200 children total), 1 new community library, continued tutoring to at least one school, 3 summer camps (for a total of 75 children), 1 workshop for teachers, and to take a book club from a rural community to the International Book Fair in Guadalajara.
Income inequality and unbalanced educational opportunities are major issues for Mexico. In fact, the top 1% of the population currently holds 46.9% of national wealth while the bottom 50% hold just .2% of national wealth. Furthermore, the drop-out rate at schools is much greater for children of low-income families, exacerbating the problem more.
Investing in education is the only way to combat structural inequality in an increasingly globalized economy. We currently work with elementary schools, other non-profit organizations, and community centers in low-income rural villages to implement reading campaigns, writing programs, summer camps and other cultural events with the aim of igniting an interest and love for reading and learning in general.
Our projects are like planting seeds which will one day grow to be mighty trees but this requires time, patience, and continued nourishment. With that being said, it is clear that children that participate in our projects can also experience more immediate benefits like falling in love with a book for the first time which, we believe, will increase the chances of picking up a second book and so on. By creating a positive emotional memory associated with a book, we believe we can change a life.
